My father was a large man and died of a heart attack aged only 35 so i tried to keep fit and was a pretty decent football player but a knee injury wrecked any chance of a career so I got into acting while attending university in the Toronto chapter of an improvisational comedy troupe and we started up the hit sketch television series, Second City Television (SCTV).
People seemed to like that in the land of maple syrup and bacon and got me noticed in Hollywood and i got a small role in The Blues Brothers but my big break came with 1981’s Stripes. this introduction to real Hollywood filmmaking, however, was almost more than my already overloaded heart could handle.
Most comedians in my position became obsessed with women, substances, and the hard partying lifestyle but i was happily married and had no interest in the hard stuff at that time and starred in some of the most successful comedies of the 80s and 90s although i missed out on Ghostbusters, i did get to star in the music video for Ray Parker Jr's hit single 'Ghostbusters' to help promote the soundtrack for the film.
Unfortunately, i then discovered an interest for the hard stuff and took to drink and drugs and my weight was ballooning and was living life in the fast lane but the death of my friend John Belushi from an overdose slowed me down but the damage, sadly, was already done as i just couldn't get the weight off due to a pastry addiction and tipped the scales at 300 lbs.
To be fair, discipline was never in my genes but heart disease was and my heart finally gave out.
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